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Azzara Family Trustee Scholarship assists food science students

November 18, 2013

Azzara Family Trustee Scholarship assists food science students

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A new scholarship created by an alumnus of Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and his wife is benefiting students in the college with demonstrated financial need, with first preference going to those majoring in Food Science.

With a $100,000 gift, C. Daniel and Wendy S. Azzara, of State College, Pa., established the Azzara Family Trustee Scholarship. Daniel Azzara earned master's and doctoral degrees in Food Science at Penn State in 1984 and 1986, respectively.

"We are very excited about the Trustee Matching Scholarship Program and the many opportunities it offers students," said Wendy Azzara.

The Trustee Matching Scholarship Program maximizes the impact of private giving while directing funds to students as quickly as possible, meeting the urgent need for scholarship support. For Trustee Scholarships created through the end of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students on June 30, 2014, Penn State will provide an annual 10 percent match of the total pledge or gift.

This level is an increase from the program's original match of 5 percent, and it is available only for new endowments of $50,000 or more. The University match, which is approximately double the endowment's annual spendable income, continues in perpetuity, multiplying the support available for students with financial need.

Daniel Azzara currently is the Alan R. Warehime Professor of Agribusiness at Penn State. Prior to joining the College of Agricultural Sciences faculty, he was senior vice president for global research and development for the Hershey Company. He retired from Hershey in March 2012 after 25 years of service.

Azzara is currently a member of the Institute of Food Technologists and serves on the board of trustees for the International Food Information Council Foundation.

Azzara has been active in several College of Agricultural Sciences programs and development efforts. He is a member of the college's Volunteer Development Council and its Entrepreneurship and Innovation Board, and he is an adviser to the Food Science Club's product development team.

In 2003, Azzara received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the college, which also inducted him into its Armsby Honor Society.

"The College of Agricultural Sciences alumni have a great tradition of providing scholarship money to its students, and we are thrilled to leverage the Trustee Matching Scholarship Program while continuing that tradition," he said.

The Azzaras' gift will help the College of Agricultural Sciences to achieve the goals of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. This University-wide effort is directed toward a shared vision of Penn State as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in America.

The University is engaging Penn State's alumni and friends as partners in achieving six key objectives: ensuring student access and opportunity, enhancing honors education, enriching the student experience, building faculty strength and capacity, fostering discovery and creativity, and sustaining the University's tradition of quality. The campaign's top priority is keeping a Penn State degree affordable for students and families. The For the Future campaign is the most ambitious effort of its kind in Penn State's history, with the goal of securing $2 billion by 2014.